They are Ama-gone!
In a stunning move, Amazon walked away on Thursday from its plan to build a massive campus in Queens that would have brought an estimated 25,000 jobs to the city in exchange for $3 bi🌃llion in state and local tax ꩲbreaks.
“After much thought and deliberation, we’ve decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens,” the online retail giant said in a statꦰement.
The move was a serious blow to Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio, who had set aside their long-running feud to cut a back-room deal that lured Amazon t𝕴o the city instead of the more than 200 other metropolitan areas vying to become one of its new homes.
The two Democrats quietly offered the Jeff Bezos-owned online emporium billions of dollars in perks to b𒐪ring its HQ2♐ headquarters to Long Island City, including $2.5 billion in tax credits, $500 million in state construction subsidies and a guarantee the project could avoid New York’s laborious zoning process.
In its statement, Amazon alluded✨ to opposition from activists and left-leaning politicians.
“For Amazon, the commitment to build a new headquarters requires positive, collaborative relationships with state and loc♔al elected officials who will be supportive over the long term,” it said.
“While polls show that 70 percent of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear tꦰhat they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are requir🍷ed to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City.”
Officials had estimated the project would bring in $27 billion in tax revenue to New York over 25 years and generate 25,✃000 to 40,000 jobs for the area with an average salary of $150,000, plus another 1,300 construction jobs per year during the 15-year building process.
But the project’s announcement in November wasn’t re🐈ceived with the fanf🎃are the mayor or governor — or Amazon — seemed to expect.
Local politicians, 𝓀including state Sen. Mike✤ Gianaris (D-Long Island City), and neighborhood and labor activists were infuriated at being cut out of the deal-making and railed against one of the richest companies in the world receiving such ꦆgenerous sweeteners.
Cuomo last week ripped Gianaris’ opposition as “political malp൲ractice.” And on Thursday, Cuomo blamed fellow Democrats in the state Senate.
“A small group of politicians put their own narrow political interests above their community — which poll after poll showed overwhelmingly supported bringing Amazon to Long Island City — the state’s economic future and the best interests ofℱ the people of this state,” Cuomo said.
“The New York 🎶state Senate has done tremendous damage. They should be held accountable for this lost economic opportun𝔉ity.”
It was not clear what poll Amazon was citing in its statement, but a Siena Coll𝐆ege poll last week found 58 percent of registered city voters, and 70 percent of black voters, backed the plan, while 35 percent were opposed.
“This was something to help diversify the city from its reliance on finance jobs,” said a person involved in the developme꧃nt. “There were already talks under way for Amazon to provide local workforce training.”
S𒉰hortly after the news broke, opponents of the deal, including state Sen. Jessica Ramos and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, held a victory rally with members 🦄of unions and activist groups in Long Island City.
“Even when we were faced with the richest man in the world and the richest company in 🐟the world, we did not buckle,” Van Bramer told the crowd of around a dozen.
“Amazon doesn’t need our $3 billion . . . Rather than adopting our New York values, they took their marbl🤡es and went somewhere🌟 else.”
He was heckled by a handful of local business owners, who b♑la♌sted the politicians and activists as “job killers.”
Amazon said it would not sho♌p for a new city but instead go ahead with plans to build in Arlington, Va., and Nashville, Tenn.
Additional reporting by Lois Weiss and Danielle Furfaro